"Silent Running" Drone #3

Back in 1971, the movie Silent Running went into production. It was released on March 10, 1972. 

The movie was directed by Douglas Trumbull and starred Bruce Dern. 

According to Wikipedia:

After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations. Assisted by three robots and a small human crew, Lowell rebels when he is ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions. Lowell and his robots are forced to do anything necessary to keep their invaluable greenery alive.

A friend, Larry Whisenhunt, who played Drone #3 ("Louie"), told me that the film was shot aboard an old aircraft carrier. 

Above, (left to right) Larry Whisenhunt, Mark Persons and Cheryl Sparks (or Steven Brown). 

Above, Larry Whisenhunt and yours truly in La Habra, California, July 1979. Photo by Paul Evans.

I had known Larry Whisenhunt since 1970 and sponsored him into Delta Phi Sigma Fraternity during college. Sadly, he passed away in 1989 from kidney cancer. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Covina Hills in Southern California.

Above, the final resting place of Larry Whisenhunt. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Watched "Invaders From Mars" (1953)

Above, this shot of Bob Shayne was taken from my television screen with my camera. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This evening, I watched the restored Invaders From Mars (1953) from Ignite Films on Blu-ray.

The movie scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. Now I just laugh at how cheesy it is. Still, it was entertaining.

I can look past the mutants's back zippers on their costumes (there was even a fat one) and the stock footage of tanks to pad the running time.

The movie looked great. They did a great job in its restoration. The extras also made buying the Blu-ray worthwhile. They include observatory scenes shot about a year later for European audiences and an alternate ending. Also included is an interview with actor Jimmy Hunt. There were other extras. 

Although low budget, the movie had a German expressionism look by director William Cameron Menzies.

I spotted three actors of the Adventures of Superman television show. Robert Shayne, John Eldridge and Janine Perreau. Barbara Billingsley of Leave It To Beaver was also in it as a secretary.

Interestingly, in the underground passageways, there are round balloon-like things on the walls. Those turned out to be hundreds of condoms bought at a drug store,. It was said that the druggist mused that "someone is going to have a great night" or something to that effect.

The Blu-ray was a bit pricey at $45, but it was worth the cost. If you like 1950s flying saucer science-fiction movies, you'll have fun watching this one.

"Invaders From Mars" (1953) Blu-ray

A couple of days ago, I blogged about the restored Invaders From Mars (1953) using the original film negatives.

After posting, I looked around to see where I could get a copy. That was a daunting task, it seemed that neither eBay nor Amazon had it.

But last evening, I saw an ad for it on Facebook from Ignite Films. 

Here it is (screen capture):

$55.00?! That's pretty pricey for an old movie! 

Then, I used the ad's drop-down widget and found that the Blu-ray is $45.00. That's a little better. But considering the extras that come along with it, I decided to buy it.

If $45.00 doesn't scare you away, you can order it by going here.

"Invaders From Mars" (1953) Restored

This movie scared the bejeezus out of me when I was a kid. It is nice to know that it was lovingly restored...and with the original negatives to help accomplish that!

Black Hole Movies posted on Twitter:

The long overdue restoration of William Cameron Menzies’ Invaders from Mars (1953) looks and sounds incredible. Have loved the film for years, but its presentations have always been poor. I didn’t know that the original camera negatives were still around to make this possible.

We can now see the zippers on the backs of the Martians a lot clearer! 

The last time I saw this movie was around 30 years ago. I'll have to get a copy!

58 Years of Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea

One of my favorite television shows of the 1960s was Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea.

It was such a favorite that I was determined to build a model of the show's submarine Seaview even with a cracked wrist. I succeeded!

From Classic Retrovision Milestones on Facebook:

58 years ago today, September 14, 1964, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea premiered. A television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the movie's sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the television series. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the first of Irwin Allen's four science fiction television series as well as the longest running. The show's main theme was underwater adventure.

Voyage was broadcast on ABC from September 14, 1964 to March 31, 1968, and was the decade's longest-running American science fiction television series with continuing characters. The 110 episodes produced included 32 shot in black and white (1964–65), and 78 filmed in color (1965–68). The first two seasons took place in the then future of the 1970s. The final two seasons took place in the 1980s. The show starred Richard Basehart and David Hedison.

 

Above, yours truly with David Hedison at Monsterpalooa in April 2010.

I met David Hedison at the April 2010 Monsterpalooza show in Burbank. I also earlier interviewed him for G-FAN magazine. He felt that the first two seasons were the best ones.  

"Logan's Run" (1976)

Above, Jenny Agutter and Michael York in Logan's Run. MGM Photo.

During the same week that Elvis Presley died, I went with my parents to the Studio Drive-In Theater in Culver City to see a double-feature: The Spy Who Loved Me and Logan's Run.

On Logan's Run, the following is from Wikipedia:

Logan's Run is a 1976 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett, and Peter Ustinov. The screenplay by David Zelag Goodman is based on the 1967 novel Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. It depicts a utopian future society on the surface, revealed as a dystopia where the population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by killing everyone who reaches the age of thirty. The story follows the actions of Logan 5, a "Sandman" who has terminated others who have attempted to escape death and is now faced with termination himself.

Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film uses only the novel's two basic premises: that everyone must die at a set age, and that Logan and companion Jessica attempt to escape while being chased by another Sandman named Francis. After aborted attempts to adapt the novel, story changes were made including raising the age of "last day" from 21 to 30 and introducing the idea of "Carrousel" [sic] for eliminating 30-year-olds. Its filming was marked by special-effects challenges in depicting Carrousel and innovative use of holograms and wide-angle lenses.

Since that viewing, I have only seen bits of it here and there on television. Until now. 

A Blu-ray copy of Logan's Run arrived in the mail today and I watched it this evening. It was as enjoyable today as when I first saw it. Jenny Agutter was alluring as always. Farrah Fawcett-Majors had a small role, but it was good to see her in her prime again.

I was struck by the premise that this "utopia", as with all so-called utopias, provided pleasures and anything else the population of the city wanted. But with a catch (naturally). Everyone must die at age 30. The utopian police-state government (it is hard to say who, except maybe the computers) knows what's best for everyone, while at the same time has to lie in order to stay in power. It it only after Logan comes back from "the outside" and reports what he found, the computers go haywire and destructs. It reminds me of the "utopia" the Democrats have been pushing these past few years. The change from age 21 (the book) to age 30 (the movie) actually makes more sense to me. 

Logan's Run holds up quite well after 44 years.

50 Best Alien Movies Ever Made

Above, a replica Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still at the
 Roswell International UFO Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since summer is over and autumn has arrived (with winter just around the corner), many will find themselves indoors and needing something to do. One idea to keep occupied is to watch alien movies.

Madison.com has compiled a list of the 50 best alien movies ever made. Several Star Trek movies made the list, by the way.

Before listing the 50 best, they wrote:

Humanity’s ideas of alien existence often says more about us than the little green men we envision. Our conception of life beyond Earth reflects our collective hopes and fears about the unknown and about technology, as well as our knowledge of the larger universe — which changes dramatically as time goes on.

No medium has more vividly captured and utilized scenarios of extraterrestrial life better than film. Aliens first appeared on screen in 1902, in Georges Méliès’s “A Trip to the Moon.” After 1947 — in which civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold’s UFO sightings and the discovery of a mysterious “flying disc” near Roswell, New Mexico occurred — a subculture devoted to otherworldly creatures called “ufology” emerged, leaving a lasting mark on cinema.

As America dealt with the Red Scare in the 1950s, influential alien films like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “War of the Worlds” used intergalactic characters to reflect citizens’ fear of Communism and other “outsiders,” as well as humanity's penchant to destroy itself from within. Extraterrestrials were also common sci-fi horror monsters, ranging from the titular alien in Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic to the shape-shifting arctic creature in “The Thing.” However, in the 1970s and 1980s, friendlier and sometimes lovable aliens were also reflected in movies such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” and “Cocoon.” These days, otherworldly characters appear in a wide range of roles, from the alien force that mutates biological creatures in “Annihilation” to the more kindly, time-bending heptapods of “Arrival.”

With the wide number of alien movies throughout the history of film, how can viewers determine which extraterrestrial features are most worth their time? To answer that question, Stacker compiled data (as of Sept. 2, 2020) on all sci-fi movies on Letterboxd, the film-based social media network, and selected the top 50 alien movies, ranked according to their average Letterboxd score. To qualify, aliens had to be main characters or central to the plot of the film.

Here are the best alien movies of all time, starting at No. 50 and counting down to No. 1.

To see the list, go here. 

Where's The Road In "Them!"?

Above, pointing out where the shocked little girl and her parents' trailer were found in Them!

Just like the 1930s and 1940s are generally considered the "classic era" for horror movies, the 1950s is considered by many to the the "classic era" for science-fiction movies.

Last night, I watched one such classic from the 1950s: Them! (1954), with James Whitmore and James Arness.

The story:

While investigating a series of mysterious deaths, Sergeant Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) finds a young girl (Sandy Descher) who is unable to speak. As Peterson joins forces with FBI agent Robert Graham (James Arness) and scientist Dr. Harold Medford (Edmund Gwenn), he discovers that all the incidents are due to giant ants that have been mutated by atomic radiation. Peterson and Graham, with the aid of the military, attempt to find the queen ants and destroy the nests before the danger spreads.

The atomic radiation that mutated the ants originated from the 1945 atomic bomb test (the "Trinity" test) in nearby White Sands, New Mexico.

Above, the location of Gramps Johnson's store.

During the movie, a map of the vicinity of Alamogordo in Otero County was shown where the little girl was found wandering in the desert and where Gramps Johnson was found dead in his store basement.

Above, a real map of the Valmont, New Mexico vicinity. There's no such road from it.

This got my curiosity going. I checked Google Maps, Mapquest and others to see if this was an actual road in New Mexico southwest of Alamogordo originating from Valmont. Well, Valmont is a real place, but none of the maps showed the road depicted in the movie. It was either fictional or the road was removed to protect the public. I go with fictional

I guess fans of Them! can't go on that road to see the "locations" (I suspect the scenes were actually filmed in the Mojave Desert of California).

"Flash Gordon" On Comet

Above, Buster Crabbe (center) and Charles Middleton (right) in Flash Gordon.

Not since the 1960s had I the pleasure of watching the old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s. They are based on Alex Raymond's comic strip.

As I now am able to get the Comet TV network here in New Mexico, I am enjoying watching episodes of Flash Gordon (1936). Comet TV plays them on Sunday nights.

They were three serials in all and they were produced by Universal Pictures for Saturday matinees. It is said that these serials inspired George Lucas into creating Star Wars.



Along with Crabbe in the title role, the serial starred Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Charles Middleton as Ming the Merciless, Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura and Frank Shanno as Dr. Alexis Zarkov.

Although the effects are primitive and the budgets were on the low side, they are still fun to watch. Since Universal was producing these, stock footage from Frankenstein and other movies were incorporated. Also, music cues from Universal's library were also used. I recognized some from Bride of Frankenstein and The Black Cat.

Quite often, I find watching these old films more entertaining than today's high-tech productions. 

Gort Is Among Us

Above, Gort is ready to blast someone at the Roswell International UFO Museum and Research Cener. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I visited the Roswell International UFO Museum and Research center, I found that the museum has a full-size replica of Gort, the robot policeman from the 1951 science-fiction classic, The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Above, yours truly with Gort in Roswell. 

This wasn't the first Gort I've ever encountered.

On La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, stands a Gort replica in the window of Grey Goose Framing at 1170 S. La Brea Ave. I've passed by the store many times over the years.

At the Action Figure Insider website, they state that there are two other full-size Gort replicas in the Los Angeles area. One is at a collectibles shop in Santa Monica. Another is at Fry's Electronics in Burbank. They have photos of both along with a photo of the one at Grey Goose Framing. To view the site, go here.

I have my own Gort. It is a five-inch metal figure that I bought at the Science-Fiction Museum in Seattle, Washington in 2005.

Above, my 5" Gort. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The helmet to the real Gort movie prop helmet was sold to a collector three years ago for $150,000. I don't know what became of the rest of the Gort suit.

Roswell Movie Influences

Above, a crashed UFO in the arctic is discovered in The Thing From Another World (1951).

When The Roswell Incident took place in July 1947, it spawned a genre of science-fiction movies that began in the 1950s and continues to this day.

A number of movies were influenced by The Roswell Incident.

According to The Robot's Voice:

Everyone knows about this one: in summer 1947, a UFO allegedly crashed a few dozen miles from the New Mexico town of Roswell. Though there were a few press reports that mentioned “flying discs,” the Air Force quickly identified the debris as a weather balloon and the entire incident was forgotten until 1978, when the Army Air Field officer responsible for investigating the incident suggested there was something amiss about the debris, and that it may have been covered up by the military. 

This led to an explosion of interest in the Roswell incident. The story grew as more and more witnesses came out of the woodwork. According to this version, the balloon story was a cover-up for an actual UFO crash. Roswell has been the subject of the 1994 TV-movie Roswell (above) and the TV series Roswell (1999-2002). The Roswell incident also plays a role in the films Independence Day and Men in Black, as well as the classic Futurama episode “Roswell That Ends Well,” where Zoidberg turns out to be the alien the military attempts to vivisect.

Above, a crashed UFO in the Arizona desert is found in It Came From Outer Space (1953).

There are two movies from the heyday of the 1950s that immediately come to mind that The Roswell Incident influenced: The Thing From Another World (1951) and It Came From Outer Space (1953).

Both movies involve crashed UFOs. These two movies are considered classics today. These are the only two UFO movies I can think of involving crashed space ships. I considered Invaders From Mars, but that movie's flying saucer landed inside the quicksand bog, not crashed.

If anyone else can think of other movies involving crashed UFOs, feel free to state them in the comments.

"Kong: Skull Island"

Above, Kong seems to want our snacks. The photo was taken with a
"selfie machine" in the theater lobby. What the heck? It was free!

Well, I left the theater about 45 minutes ago after seeing Kong: Skull Island by Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures.

First, Jes and I went to the Pacific Winnetka Theaters in Chatsworth (or was it Northridge?) and I have to say that the seats we had were the most comfortable theater seats we've ever had. They fully reclined and were adjustable! One has to love modern technology.

Next, Kong: Skull Island has to be the best giant monster movie I've seen since Cloverfield. Someone wrote on Facebook that it has everything a giant monster movie should have. Yes, it had thrills, terror, suspense, creepiness, action, explosions, guns, great special effects, good story and everything else one would want. Jes also loved the movie (sometimes she can be a little more critical than I).

If I were to have a quibble, it would be the design of Kong. It wasn't bad, but I much prefer the Kong design of Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005).

There is one battle that Kong has that seems to be a hat tip to King Kong vs. Godzilla. Maybe, maybe not.

I was forewarned ahead of time to stay through the end credits as there would be something that shouldn't be missed. Besides Jes and I, there was a group sitting in our row who sat through the end credits. Everyone else in the theater, including a guy that sat next to us, and that was after I gave him a tip on it. But he was so wrapped up in a phone conversation that he left and missed it. But we stayed and saw it.

Yes, it was worth it. Just a little hint: it has something to do with Godzilla.

My grade: A+.

Rondo Awards Voting Is On!

It's that time of year again when monster, horror and science-fiction fans vote on the various "best of" categories on books, articles, magazines, events, conventions, DVDs all kinds of other stuff.

Yes, the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards ballot for 2015 is now posted and you can vote on your favorites.

Here's how to vote:

–– All voting is by e-mail only.  Simply copy this ballot (cut-and-paste works fine) and send an e-mail with your picks to me, David Colton, at taraco@aol.com by Sunday night at midnight, April 10, 2016. 

— You can send a quick e-mail, or you can cut-and-paste the ballot and highlight your choices, or place an X next to your choices; or you can type your choices in an e-mail. And no, you do not have to vote in every category. 

— One vote per person, please. Every e-mail must include your name to be counted.  All votes are kept strictly confidential. No e-mail addresses or personal information will ever be shared with anyone. 

— Feel free to spread the word about the Rondo voting — go social on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; place Rondo banners on websites, urge friends and fans to vote. But please do not mass-produce or duplicate ballots; suspicious ballots will be rejected at the sole discretion of Rondo organizers. Let’s keep this a fun vote! 

— Again TO VOTE e-mail your picks to taraco@aol.com

To access the ballot, go here. 

We Got This Covered's "Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time"

Above, Godzilla (1954) made the list. Photo: Toho Co., Ltd.

It seems that almost everyone has their top ten, top 40, top 50 and top 100 lists. Well, the people behind We Got This Covered.com has their "Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time" list out for everyone's viewing pleasure.

Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla (2014) made the list and Godzilla (1998) did not (no surprise there).

There are some that I am surprised didn't make the list and there are some I thought should not have.

We Got This Covered prefaces their list with (in part):

If there’s one cinematic genre that transcends the humdrum of everyday life, it’s science fiction. Whether it’s exploring the altered nature of our own Pale Blue Dot in another timeline or venturing out into a galaxy far, far away, no other category in Hollywood cinema captures the imagination in such a way. 

So, to celebrate the unbridled creativity that this genre elicits so well, the ever-so-passionate staff at We Got This Covered rallied together to single out the greatest, most memorable science fictions films in history — be they silent masterpieces from a bygone era or recent blockbuster Hollywood releases that favoured brain over brawn. Those releases that linger in your mind long, long after the credits roll. 

With that said, join us as we cherry pick the top 100 science fiction films of all time! 

 To see their top 100 sci-fi movies of all time, go here.

JapanTourist: How Japan’s Non-CG Sci-Fi Films are Made

Above, a Godzilla prop from "Godzilla x Megaguirus" (2000).  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Godzilla fans are very much familiar with the techniques used to create the illusion of giant monsters attacking Japanese cities.

However, the average person probably is not familiar with these techniques or very little (chalking them up as guys in rubber suits smashing "cardboard" buildings).

JapanTourist, the Japan-travel related site that I am currently contributing to, has an article on the making of Japanese giant monster movies (or non-CGI sci-fi films).

Currently, there is a "lavish exhibit" in Japan at the Ehime Museum of Art on those techniques.  The article tells about this exhibit, too.  The article includes plenty of pictures.

Here's an excerpt:

The exhibition is housed across all of the galleries and media rooms on the second floor, and there’s never a dull moment. The exhibits show the history, design, and craftsmanlike creation behind favourites such as Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, the Ultraman series and Nihon Chinbotsu or Sinking of Japan.

To read more, go here.

Women and The Rondo Awards

An interesting post had been posted over at the Classic Horror Film Board by its moderator and head honcho of the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, David Colton:

It's always struck me how far and wide the Rondo 'electorate' is, and one thing that is consistent from year to year is the amazing number of women who vote.

I just did a rough estimate of the first week's votes, and a good 20% -- and it seems to build as the voting goes on -- are women, and they are knowledgeable and full of genre energy. (And no, despite that, TWILIGHT: ECLIPSE still only has a handful of votes. Another myth busted.)

I find it fascinating, and heartening, and it does seem to impact the results in interesting ways. But anyone who thinks the horror world is fanboys only need simply count up Rondo ballots -- or attend any convention!

That is interesting! Some people consider it a "given" that women, in general, aren't interested in horror or, especially, science-fiction. I know quite a few women who love horror and science-fiction. My mom was the one who got me interested in both genres. The last movie my mom and I went to together was Cloverfield. She enjoyed it as much as I did.

I agree with David, it is heartening!

"Ailing" Harlan Ellison To Appear At MadCon

Love him or hate him, there is one thing that Harlan Ellison will always be remembered for (besides his literate scripts): his outspoken fight for writers' rights.

It has been revealed that Ellison is ailing and that this upcoming appearance this weekend at MadCon will be his last and it will be his "good-bye" to fans.

The Daily Page.com reports:

Due to his failing health, there had been some doubt about whether Ellison would show up in person or participate in panels, readings and other events by telephone from his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. But at press time he affirmed he was coming. He is also adamant that MadCon will be the final convention he ever attends, in any fashion.

"The truth of what's going on here is that I'm dying," says Ellison, by phone. "I'm like the Wicked Witch of the West -- I'm melting. I began to sense it back in January. By that time, I had agreed to do the convention. And I said, I can make it. I can make it.'"

Ellison's scripts over the years certainly raised the bar on science-fiction (he prefers "speculative fiction") writing that others only can hope to aspire to. His battles with Hollywood studios over pay, residuals and other rights writers are entitled to are legendary. Losing Ellison's voice would be a tough blow.

I hope that his health rallies and he's able to continue for many years to come.

To read the full article, go here.